Westerly High School holds high standards for their students and makes sure they maintain these standards. The small coastal town is rapidly growing and has had no choice but to expand from a single building high school into a two- building campus. This report will provide an accurate description of the community, district, and school and will be beneficial to any parent, future faculty member, and new resident to become comfortable with the area. During the school section of the report, it will pay attention to demographics, funding, academic performance, and communication. Most importantly we will examine if the school is meeting state mandated standards and the No Child Left Behind Act standards.
Ward Building
High School
Westerly High School is a predominately Caucasian facility with a constantly increasing student body which requires the school expand. Since the student body is made up of students that come from middle class families, it takes a substantial amount of time to gather enough money for renovations or additions. Regardless of the financial situation of the school, the students at the high school perform higher on proficiency and state assessments than the state does as a whole. Apart from academics, a majority of students participate in after school activities, while a fraction of the students' parents are involved in the school's activities. In the following school analysis, we will examine the school's history, demographics, funding, academic performance, communication, health and safety risks, and extracurricular activities.
History:
With the ending of the American Civil War, people were beginning to focus on education across the country. In Westerly, RI, the public was weary of the $10,000 proposal for a public school. (Muccio, 2003) Five years after the Civil War ended, however, "voters finally approved construction of the first freehand public school in Westerly" which was dedicated in 1870 on Elm Street. (Muccio, 2003) Thirty years later, the school was moved to Broad and Granite Street due to the increasing enrollment rates in the town. Since the town's population increased dramatically over the next 28 years, the taxpayers of Westerly willingly passed a $50,000 proposal for a new addition to the current high school. (Muccio, 2003) Like before, the new building could not hold the student body attending. In order to fix the problem, the Westerly district once again payed $449,856 for a new high school building with a cubic footage of 1,022,250 cu.ft. (Muccio, 2003) Furthermore, at least 45% of the building's cost was payed for with money from the Federal Government! With the school completed, the former high school on Broad and Granite Street was moved to the Governor Samuel Ward building on Ward Avenue in 1937. (Muccio, 2003)
Over the next sixty years, the Westerly High School went through some dramatic changes such as the addition of a a science wing including chemistry, physics, and biology labs in 1967 and a 1,500 person gymnasium in 1975. (Muccio, 2003) By the year 1993, the school committee proposed a $38 million dollar renovation plan that was rejected and replaced by an $18.5 million dollar construction plan in 1994.(Muccio, 2003) The construction proposal would further expand the high school in order to compensate for the increasing student body once again. After the completion of the second buidling for the high schoo, the Westerly "campus" has been setting standards for Southern Rhode Island. At the present date, " the Westerly High School is well on its way to becoming a model school in all the areas of technology, distance learning, inclusion, and alternative programs." (Muccio, 2003)
Demographics:
According to Infoworks for the 2006-2007 year, the school's current population has risen to 1,107 students and 110 teachers with a more diverse curriculum and population than before (RI Department of Education, 2008). At Westerly High school, 90 percent of students are white with the other 10 percent being minorities. These minority groups at Westerly include 1 percent being African-American, 6 percent Asian, 2 percent being Hispanic, and 1 percent Native American. Furthermore, only 1 percent of these high school students are receiving ESL services which tells us that the other 99 percent of the students use English as their native language. (RI Department of Education, 2008)
Besides ethnicity and background, we can determine a socioeconomic status of the students based on certain factors such as percent of students with reduced lunch. In regards to the information provided by the school report cards, 98 percent of the students tested at the Westerly High School were classified as "economically disadvantaged students." (RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2008) Out of the student body at Westerly High School, 16 percent of the high school's students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Meanwhile, 16 percent of Westerly High students are receiving special education services which include: general education with supports, homebound/hospitalized students, and self-contained students. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Since a large portion of the studdents taking exams were considered economically disadvantaged, it shows that large percentage of Westerly families are falling due to the country's recent economic tragedies. Yet, less than a quarter of these families may be performing worse (just above the poverty line) due to high costs of living or their children have special needs that cost more than the average child.
School Funding:
Funding is an important factor in all of this because the offered resources like AP Testing can affect the NCLB rating of the school. Westerly High spent $13,267 on each student during the school year of 2006-2007 (barely $2000 more per pupil than the state's average) which comes out to an overall expenditure of $14,660,035. These hefty expenditures pay for a multitude of expenses that include the cost of teachers, substitute teachers, technology provided in classrooms, materials, field trips, and paraprofessionals (RI Department of Education, 2008). Since the school is given more money per student, they can spend their budget on strengthening the curriculum by adding Advanced Placement courses. The AP courses give the students the chance to earn college credit while bringing their education beyond the usual standard. As a result, the NCLB standards are met since the students are performing far beyond the required values.
AcademicPerformance: When compared to the state, Westerly High School performed higher on an a variety of proficiency and state assessments. Based on information gathered in 2008 by Information Works!, the school had an attendance rate of 94% and absent rate of 6 percent, while the state had attendance/absent rates of 90 percent/10 percent respectively. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As for the population of students who went to school on a regular basis, the graduation rate of Westerly High was 95% which suggests the drop out rate was 5 percent for the 2006-2007 academic year. When compared to the Westerly High School, the state's average graduation rate was 89 percent and it had a drop out rate of 11 percent.(RI Department of Education, 2008) These rates have made incredible increases compared to the high school's graduation rate of 88 percent from the last academic year. On average, out of every 100 students attending Westerly High about 12 were suspended whereas the state had almost 56 students suspended for every 100 students (RI Department of Education, 2008).
Through the data provided by Infoworks, Westerly High School held a higher percent of proficiency on average in Mathematics and English Language Arts than the state for the State Testing held in March of 2007. (RI Department of Education, 2008) The school's student performed 6 percentages points higher in Mathematics and 7 percentage points higher in English Language Arts than the state averages during a 2008 survey. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Of the sixty-five percent of Westerly High School seniors that took the SAT’s in 2006, they scored the following compared to the 59 percent average of seniors who took the SAT's in the state: 6 points higher in Mathematics, 20 points higher in Verbal, and 21 points greater in Writing. in both the math and verbal section, over the state’s 57 percent of Rhode Island students. (RI Department of Education, 2008) By spending more money on each student, the school is also able to provide several AP classes that can count towards college credit. Out of the 59 Advanced Placement exams taken by Westerly High School, 17 percent of them were taken by seniors and 63 percent of the exams taken were “scored at a college mastery level.”(RI Department of Education, 2008)
Funding also went to building upon student target/goals in the Westerly High School that were created during the No Child Left Behind Act. During the 2006-2007 school year, only 16 of the 17 designated targets were met by the Westerly High School. As a result, the school was labeled as"has not made Adequate Yearly Progress and is classified with a 'caution' designation" based on NCLB Standards. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Within the next year, however, the school managed to meet 15 out of its 15 designated targets and has been promoted to "making Adequate Yearly Progress." (RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2008)
Health and Safety Standards/Risks:
Safety and dealing with problems can be a big hassle at a secondary level due to the high volume of students and low numbers of faculty. With the teacher-student ratio of 1:10, it allows the decrease of bullying while targeting and handling drug abuse easier because the density has decreased with additional faculty (RI Department of Education, 2008).Yet, there are still safety and health risks present in the high school. At least 34 percent of the student body have been robbed at this school before. Thirty-two percent of students have had someone approach them “one or more times” trying to sell drugs. (RI Department of Education, 2008)
Even though a majority of the students have chosen more healthy ways, there is still a small percent of risk-taking individuals. According to Infoworks for 2008, at least 30% of students smoked at least one day within the last 30, while over 50 percent of the student body said they drank alcohol at least once within the last 30 days (RI Department of Education, 2008). Performing in these high-risk situations may be terrible, but the worst part is only 85 percent of the student's have some type of health-facility they regularly visit. A doctor's ability to work with a patient increases by knowing the patient and their history. As a result, the 15 percent of students that do not receive medical attention from the same facility have a greater risk of developing a serious condition.
Levels of Communications:
Communication between students, teachers, and administrators is very important factor of overall school climate. As the school stands to the present date, 17 percent of Westerly High students feel that they can talk to teachers about problems at home and 50 percent believe they can talk to teacher “most of the time or always” about problems related to school. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Both situations could due with improvement since the educational staff are there for the students in anyway possible. In order to understand the level of participation of the parents, SALT surveys were sent out for a general census. Based on the responses, 42 percent teachers say they are “satisfied or very satisfied” with the community and parental involvement with the school, but that is better than the state average which is 30 percent. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Yet this contradicts how parents are claiming they are involved in their child’s life because there were only 4 percent of SALT surveys were submitted by parents. (RI Department of Education, 2008
Extra-Curricular Activities:
Extra-curricular activities are another important factor that affects both the students and community. The Westerly High School offers cross country, soccer, tennis, volleyball, lacrosse, indoor and outdoor track & field, basketball, and swimming for both boys and girls. Also, the high school also offers football, baseball, fastpitch baseball, golf, cheer leading, and gymnastics, which are only offered one season per year. As a result, the sport can attract boys, girls, or both sexes. (RI Interscholastic League, October 6, 2007).
Downtown Westerly
Community
The Westerly community is much like the high school in the sense that it is not very ethnically diverse with a larger percent of the community speaking English as a second language. From an education perspective, a majority of the Westerly community has an education of a high school diploma or equal. Also, the average family and household incomes suggests that a majority of the community is considered to be middle class. The section will discuss the community demographics, economic status, socioeconomic status, education of community, community involvement, and crime rate.
Demographics:
Community support is vital to any school and is definitely influenced by its size. With a population of 23,408 people in 2007 and an average household size of 2.40 people, it is easy to say that this is a suburb of Providence, Rhode Island’s capital (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). This beach town relies heavily on tourism as income, as some locals claim that the population nearly doubles in the summer. Considering the Westerly community, 98.8 percent of the town considers itself to be "one race" with the other 1.2 percent of people being two or more races. In regards to the "one race" population, 95.2 percent are White, 0.7 are African-American, 0.6 percent are American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2.0 percent are Asian, and 0.3 are another race. (US Census Bureau, 2000) Even though there is a presence of diverse cultures and the practice of foreign languages in the community, only 12.0 percent of people living in Westerly speak a language other than English at home. (US Census Bureau, 2000)
Economic Status:
As much as general characteristics frame a community, the economic traits can inspire a whole other world of ideas and solutions to theories. In regards to the Westerly community, it is not a relatively affluent community. Even the median household income average is about $44,613 and the median family income averages at least $53,165, both averages are lower than the state and country median household income ($51,814 and $48,451) respectively. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) When the yearly salaries are examined from a gender perspective, the salaries are somewhat split between the sexes. Full-time working males made an average of $37,887 while full-time working females worked the same amount of time and made only $26,800. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000)
Although the average median income is considered "middle class," there is a small percentage of families that lie below the poverty line. Based on recent reports, about 4.3 percent of Westerly families and 6.7 of Westerly individuals are living below the poverty level. Yet, The state and country family poverty levels of 7.8% and 9.8% respectively are much greater than Westerly's percentage, which are 7.8% and 9.8% respectively.(RI Department of Education, 2008) Of Westerly’s population, there are 18,124 people in the labor force that are either 16 years or older, and only 3.3 percent of these people are unemployed (which is the equivalent of 606 people) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000).
Socioeconomic Status:
Another factor that could possibly explain differences in student diversity is the student's socioeconomic background (which widely vary). As for the Westerly community, it In a 2008 survey, Rhode Island had 15 percent of its children under 18 years old were living in poverty, a 4 percent decrease from last year's figure. (RI Department of Education, 2008) The “maternal education” of children born between 2002 and 2006 varies significantly, but can help convey some insight on learning patterns in students. Between 2002 and 2006, 15 percent of children born in RI had mothers with less than a high school diploma. Out of the children born between 2002-2006 in RI, 37 percent were born to mother's with a bachelor's degree and above, and 17 percent were born to mother's with some college. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As for the rest of the population for maternal education, 28% were born to mother's with a high-school diploma, 15 percent to mother's with less than high-school diploma, and 3% was unknown (RI Department of Education, 2008) Since the data is collected from the major cities in Rhode Island, it can be conveyed that Westerly does have similar groups but not the same values.
Education of Community:
When looking at the area from an educational perspective, it is easy to see the community's education levels as being a bell curve. A majority of the population that is 25 years and older has a high school diploma or something equivalent (30%) such as a GED, with the next highest group (20.3%) having some college but no degree. As for the other educational standings in the community, 15.0 percent has a bachelor's degree, 12.5 percent has a 9th to 12th grade education without diploma, 9.6 percent has a graduate/ PhD, 6.8 percent with an associate's degree, and the remaining 5.8 percent with an education lower than 9th grade. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) The education levels might explain the extremely low level of community involvement in the area over the past few years (discussed more in Community Involvement).
Community Involvement:
With only 4% of parents responding to the SALT Survey and having 90% of them who "strongly agree that the community supports the school," while only an average of 80 percent of parents in RI high schools believe the schools receive support from the community. (RI Department of Education, 2008) It is obvious that the only community involvement are from the parents who truly care about their children's education (RI Department of Education, 2008). With 24.6 percent of the Westerly community having a bachelor degree or higher, it could possibly explain the low community involvement. (RI Department of Education, 2008)Since today's society looks for well-educated individuals, the working class has to work harder to make a living. As a result, the percent of individuals in the working class might not participate in the community because they simply do not have the time.
Crime Rate in the State:
Data also shows that as the population has increased in RI, so has the crime rate. In comparison to Connecticut and Massachusetts, RI is pretty clean but the other states have more area and greater densities in the metropolitan areas. Out of the 50 states of America, Rhode Island is ranked as the 44th highest total Crime Index in 2004 and 2005 (Rank 1 being worst). (The Disaster Center, 1997) Out of all the different crimes, Rhode Island's highest rank was in 2004 when it was the 30th highest state for forcible rape at a rate of 29.6 per 100,000 people. The most frequently occurring crime in the Ocean State would be property-related damage, followed by larceny-theft (The Disaster Center, 1997). Since most of the crime data was taken from RI as a whole, it can be inferred that a majority of the crimes committed were done so in large cities such as Providence. As for Westerly, it is deducible that crime is occurring in the Westerly community, and that a majority of the crime is found under property related damage. Also, with the increase in Westerly's population, it is safe to say that the crime rate has increased as well because the same number of law enforcement must watch more people per area.
Satellite Image of Westerly District
District
When compared to the high school, the Westerly district takes on many of their aspects. Similarly, the district is predominately white with a small percentage of the student body speaking English as a second language. The district is noted for having a large number of its teachers being qualified for their positions and meeting all NCLB standards for all of its schools. The following district analysis will examine the district's demographics, expenditures, teacher qualifications, education standards, and transportation.
Demographics:
As of the 2008 state reports, the Westerly district consists of several groups but it is not ethnically diverse. According to Infoworks, 94.6 percent of the schools in the Westerly district were classified as some other form of public schools while 0.8 percent of the district is home schooled and 4.6 percent were "nonpublic." (RI Department of Education, 2008) Within these schools, the majority of the students were considered white (89%) while the other 11 percent consisted of the following ethnicities: Asian (5%), African-American (2%), Hispanic (2%), and Native American (1%). Since the diversity of the area is incredibly slim, it is acceptable to see that the Westerly district only has 2 percent of its student body receiving English as a second language. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As for the district in regards to special education services, 13 percent of the student body have general education with support services while 4 percent of the students are either hospitalized or homebound. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Also, 23 percent of the Westerly district is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch which could suggest that a quarter of the district is below the average income mark.(RI Department of Education, 2008) Therefore, we can see that the Westerly district is primarily white with little diversity, and the district does provide for the students with special needs.
District Expenditures and Funding:
After viewing the recent 2008 reports, the Westerly district has been outdoing the state for the past few years. As a whole, the Westerly School District has 3,436 students and 346 teachers between Kindergarten to twelfth grade. (RI Department of Education, 2008) With a teacher-student ratio of 1:9 and having none of its classes in the district taught by unqualified teachers, Westerly District trumps most of the state's averages. During the 2006-2007 school year, Westerly spent $48,104,252 on their students. When broken down in the table below, 82% of the district's budget is from the local area because state and federal only donate 18% to the budget. The state of Rhode Island, on the other hand, receives 37% of its budget from the state and only 55% from the local areas. (RI Department of Education, 2008) The following data tells us that most of the district's funding comes from the taxpayers in the area, which could explain for the lowered average income when compared to the state's average income.
Equity and Adequacy of Resources Sources of Revenue/Funding
Revenue/Funding
Westerly
RI
Local
82% - $41.4 M
55% - $1.1 B
State
14% - $6.8 M
37% - $749.8 M
Federal
4% - $2.0 M
7% - $145.6 M
(RI Department of Education, 2008)
In a 2008 survey, it was observed that an average of $13,966 was being spent on each child, which is more than Rhode Island's average $12,700 per pupil expenditure. For the 2% of the population that makes up the Special Education population, an average of $26,612 is spent on each child, which is almost equal to the state spending average of $25,968. (RI Department of Education, 2008)
Teacher Qualifications and Accountability:
It is easy to see that through assessment results from state reports that the majority of Westerly students are proficient in math, reading, and writing. Westerly is referred to as a “high performing” district which means that the students have met or exceeded the standards the state of RI has set through state testing. (RI Department of Education, 2008 In the district and the state, 1 percent of the teachers have emergency certification, meaning that there is not a high demand for teachers but there is still some demand. From last year's data, the Westerly District had 28 percent of "classes not taught by a highly qualified teacher" while the state remained at 23 percent. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As of the latest 2008 survey, the state average for "percent of classes not taught by a highly qualified teacher" decreased to only 15 percent, while the Westerly District reported "0 percent of classes not taught by a highly qualified teacher." (RI Department of Education, 2008)
District Accountability and Educational Standard:
Since the level of teaching is beyond adequate, the NCLB had classified the district as making "adequate yearly progress" in 5 of the 6 schools under review during the 2006-2007 academic year (RI Department of Education, 2008). In other words, the Westerly District was meeting the educational standard according to the NCLB standards. The one school in question could possibly be the Westerly High School in the 2006-2007 school year. Based on accountability data provided by InfoWorks, the Westerly elementary and middle schools in the area meet all of their identified targets, whereas the Westerly High School did not meet a target in "students with disabilities." (RI Department of Education, 2008) Yet, as of the 2007-2008 school year report, we can see that all the schools are making "adequate yearly progress," with even some schools being commended for their performance. (RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2008)
Transportation and Vocational Programs:
It is required by the RI Department of Education to provide transportation to all students living in the district. This includes "students attending private, out-of-district regionalized schools." Also included are regulations and standards that the buses and drivers must meet. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Also offered by the district are vocational classes the range anywhere from cooking, to foreign language, to even computer classes! It is not free, and it depends on what course you will take to determine how much you will be spending (Westerly Public Schools, 2008)
Conclusion
Westerly may seem like your typical small town, but is definitely going through transitions of expansion. Overall, the town of Westerly is generally quiet and during the summer, a resort to many who have beach houses or just want to get a break. Right now, the high performing high school school is proficient in all standards required by the state and the No Child Left Behind Act, and creates many opportunities to those who have and are attending Westerly High School. The Westerly community is made of middle class families that are primarily white and of "one race." The education of the community is averaged at being of a high school diploma or equivalence, and it has a very low school involvement rate. As for the district, it is not affluent but it does collect enough money from its citizens provide the schools with extremely qualified teachers and methods of transportation. Since it is has such notable characteristics, it is quite predictable to see that the whole district has met all NCLB standards for the 2007-2008 school year.
The findings will be important to the readers because it will provide them with countless pieces of information. The demographics can tell the reader if the area is capable of supporting special education services for particular students and if they area is welcoming (amount of diversity). It can tell the reader the type of community and whether or not it is geared towards education or manual labor. Furthermore, it can tell the reader if the town is an adequate place for the reader to raise a family, give their children a great education, or get a promising job in the education system.
How Westerly Compares
Introduction
Westerly High School holds high standards for their students and makes sure they maintain these standards. The small coastal town is rapidly growing and has had no choice but to expand from a single building high school into a two- building campus. This report will provide an accurate description of the community, district, and school and will be beneficial to any parent, future faculty member, and new resident to become comfortable with the area. During the school section of the report, it will pay attention to demographics, funding, academic performance, and communication. Most importantly we will examine if the school is meeting state mandated standards and the No Child Left Behind Act standards.
High School
Westerly High School is a predominately Caucasian facility with a constantly increasing student body which requires the school expand. Since the student body is made up of students that come from middle class families, it takes a substantial amount of time to gather enough money for renovations or additions. Regardless of the financial situation of the school, the students at the high school perform higher on proficiency and state assessments than the state does as a whole. Apart from academics, a majority of students participate in after school activities, while a fraction of the students' parents are involved in the school's activities. In the following school analysis, we will examine the school's history, demographics, funding, academic performance, communication, health and safety risks, and extracurricular activities.
History:
With the ending of the American Civil War, people were beginning to focus on education across the country. In Westerly, RI, the public was weary of the $10,000 proposal for a public school. (Muccio, 2003) Five years after the Civil War ended, however, "voters finally approved construction of the first freehand public school in Westerly" which was dedicated in 1870 on Elm Street. (Muccio, 2003) Thirty years later, the school was moved to Broad and Granite Street due to the increasing enrollment rates in the town. Since the town's population increased dramatically over the next 28 years, the taxpayers of Westerly willingly passed a $50,000 proposal for a new addition to the current high school. (Muccio, 2003) Like before, the new building could not hold the student body attending. In order to fix the problem, the Westerly district once again payed $449,856 for a new high school building with a cubic footage of 1,022,250 cu.ft. (Muccio, 2003) Furthermore, at least 45% of the building's cost was payed for with money from the Federal Government! With the school completed, the former high school on Broad and Granite Street was moved to the Governor Samuel Ward building on Ward Avenue in 1937. (Muccio, 2003)
Over the next sixty years, the Westerly High School went through some dramatic changes such as the addition of a a science wing including chemistry, physics, and biology labs in 1967 and a 1,500 person gymnasium in 1975. (Muccio, 2003) By the year 1993, the school committee proposed a $38 million dollar renovation plan that was rejected and replaced by an $18.5 million dollar construction plan in 1994.(Muccio, 2003) The construction proposal would further expand the high school in order to compensate for the increasing student body once again. After the completion of the second buidling for the high schoo, the Westerly "campus" has been setting standards for Southern Rhode Island. At the present date, " the Westerly High School is well on its way to becoming a model school in all the areas of technology, distance learning, inclusion, and alternative programs." (Muccio, 2003)
Demographics:
According to Infoworks for the 2006-2007 year, the school's current population has risen to 1,107 students and 110 teachers with a more diverse curriculum and population than before (RI Department of Education, 2008). At Westerly High school, 90 percent of students are white with the other 10 percent being minorities. These minority groups at Westerly include 1 percent being African-American, 6 percent Asian, 2 percent being Hispanic, and 1 percent Native American. Furthermore, only 1 percent of these high school students are receiving ESL services which tells us that the other 99 percent of the students use English as their native language. (RI Department of Education, 2008)
Besides ethnicity and background, we can determine a socioeconomic status of the students based on certain factors such as percent of students with reduced lunch. In regards to the information provided by the school report cards, 98 percent of the students tested at the Westerly High School were classified as "economically disadvantaged students." (RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2008) Out of the student body at Westerly High School, 16 percent of the high school's students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Meanwhile, 16 percent of Westerly High students are receiving special education services which include: general education with supports, homebound/hospitalized students, and self-contained students. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Since a large portion of the studdents taking exams were considered economically disadvantaged, it shows that large percentage of Westerly families are falling due to the country's recent economic tragedies. Yet, less than a quarter of these families may be performing worse (just above the poverty line) due to high costs of living or their children have special needs that cost more than the average child.
School Funding:
Funding is an important factor in all of this because the offered resources like AP Testing can affect the NCLB rating of the school . Westerly High spent $13,267 on each student during the school year of 2006-2007 (barely $2000 more per pupil than the state's average) which comes out to an overall expenditure of $14,660,035. These hefty expenditures pay for a multitude of expenses that include the cost of teachers, substitute teachers, technology provided in classrooms, materials, field trips, and paraprofessionals (RI Department of Education, 2008). Since the school is given more money per student, they can spend their budget on strengthening the curriculum by adding Advanced Placement courses. The AP courses give the students the chance to earn college credit while bringing their education beyond the usual standard. As a result, the NCLB standards are met since the students are performing far beyond the required values.
Academic Performance:
When compared to the state, Westerly High School performed higher on an a variety of proficiency and state assessments. Based on information gathered in 2008 by Information Works!, the school had an attendance rate of 94% and absent rate of 6 percent, while the state had attendance/absent rates of 90 percent/10 percent respectively. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As for the population of students who went to school on a regular basis, the graduation rate of Westerly High was 95% which suggests the drop out rate was 5 percent for the 2006-2007 academic year. When compared to the Westerly High School, the state's average graduation rate was 89 percent and it had a drop out rate of 11 percent.(RI Department of Education, 2008) These rates have made incredible increases compared to the high school's graduation rate of 88 percent from the last academic year. On average, out of every 100 students attending Westerly High about 12 were suspended whereas the state had almost 56 students suspended for every 100 students (RI Department of Education, 2008).
Through the data provided by Infoworks, Westerly High School held a higher percent of proficiency on average in Mathematics and English Language Arts than the state for the State Testing held in March of 2007. (RI Department of Education, 2008) The school's student performed 6 percentages points higher in Mathematics and 7 percentage points higher in English Language Arts than the state averages during a 2008 survey. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Of the sixty-five percent of Westerly High School seniors that took the SAT’s in 2006, they scored the following compared to the 59 percent average of seniors who took the SAT's in the state: 6 points higher in Mathematics, 20 points higher in Verbal, and 21 points greater in Writing. in both the math and verbal section, over the state’s 57 percent of Rhode Island students. (RI Department of Education, 2008) By spending more money on each student, the school is also able to provide several AP classes that can count towards college credit. Out of the 59 Advanced Placement exams taken by Westerly High School, 17 percent of them were taken by seniors and 63 percent of the exams taken were “scored at a college mastery level.”(RI Department of Education, 2008)
Funding also went to building upon student target/goals in the Westerly High School that were created during the No Child Left Behind Act. During the 2006-2007 school year, only 16 of the 17 designated targets were met by the Westerly High School. As a result, the school was labeled as"has not made Adequate Yearly Progress and is classified with a 'caution' designation" based on NCLB Standards. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Within the next year, however, the school managed to meet 15 out of its 15 designated targets and has been promoted to "making Adequate Yearly Progress." (RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2008)
Health and Safety Standards/Risks:
Safety and dealing with problems can be a big hassle at a secondary level due to the high volume of students and low numbers of faculty. With the teacher-student ratio of 1:10, it allows the decrease of bullying while targeting and handling drug abuse easier because the density has decreased with additional faculty (RI Department of Education, 2008).Yet, there are still safety and health risks present in the high school. At least 34 percent of the student body have been robbed at this school before. Thirty-two percent of students have had someone approach them “one or more times” trying to sell drugs. (RI Department of Education, 2008)
Even though a majority of the students have chosen more healthy ways, there is still a small percent of risk-taking individuals. According to Infoworks for 2008, at least 30% of students smoked at least one day within the last 30, while over 50 percent of the student body said they drank alcohol at least once within the last 30 days (RI Department of Education, 2008). Performing in these high-risk situations may be terrible, but the worst part is only 85 percent of the student's have some type of health-facility they regularly visit. A doctor's ability to work with a patient increases by knowing the patient and their history. As a result, the 15 percent of students that do not receive medical attention from the same facility have a greater risk of developing a serious condition.
Levels of Communications:
Communication between students, teachers, and administrators is very important factor of overall school climate. As the school stands to the present date, 17 percent of Westerly High students feel that they can talk to teachers about problems at home and 50 percent believe they can talk to teacher “most of the time or always” about problems related to school. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Both situations could due with improvement since the educational staff are there for the students in anyway possible. In order to understand the level of participation of the parents, SALT surveys were sent out for a general census. Based on the responses, 42 percent teachers say they are “satisfied or very satisfied” with the community and parental involvement with the school, but that is better than the state average which is 30 percent. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Yet this contradicts how parents are claiming they are involved in their child’s life because there were only 4 percent of SALT surveys were submitted by parents. (RI Department of Education, 2008
Extra-Curricular Activities:
Extra-curricular activities are another important factor that affects both the students and community. The Westerly High School offers cross country, soccer, tennis, volleyball, lacrosse, indoor and outdoor track & field, basketball, and swimming for both boys and girls. Also, the high school also offers football, baseball, fastpitch baseball, golf, cheer leading, and gymnastics, which are only offered one season per year. As a result, the sport can attract boys, girls, or both sexes. (RI Interscholastic League, October 6, 2007).
Community
The Westerly community is much like the high school in the sense that it is not very ethnically diverse with a larger percent of the community speaking English as a second language. From an education perspective, a majority of the Westerly community has an education of a high school diploma or equal. Also, the average family and household incomes suggests that a majority of the community is considered to be middle class. The section will discuss the community demographics, economic status, socioeconomic status, education of community, community involvement, and crime rate.
Demographics:
Community support is vital to any school and is definitely influenced by its size. With a population of 23,408 people in 2007 and an average household size of 2.40 people, it is easy to say that this is a suburb of Providence, Rhode Island’s capital (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). This beach town relies heavily on tourism as income, as some locals claim that the population nearly doubles in the summer. Considering the Westerly community, 98.8 percent of the town considers itself to be "one race" with the other 1.2 percent of people being two or more races. In regards to the "one race" population, 95.2 percent are White, 0.7 are African-American, 0.6 percent are American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2.0 percent are Asian, and 0.3 are another race. (US Census Bureau, 2000) Even though there is a presence of diverse cultures and the practice of foreign languages in the community, only 12.0 percent of people living in Westerly speak a language other than English at home. (US Census Bureau, 2000)
Economic Status:
As much as general characteristics frame a community, the economic traits can inspire a whole other world of ideas and solutions to theories. In regards to the Westerly community, it is not a relatively affluent community. Even the median household income average is about $44,613 and the median family income averages at least $53,165, both averages are lower than the state and country median household income ($51,814 and $48,451) respectively. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) When the yearly salaries are examined from a gender perspective, the salaries are somewhat split between the sexes. Full-time working males made an average of $37,887 while full-time working females worked the same amount of time and made only $26,800. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000)
Although the average median income is considered "middle class," there is a small percentage of families that lie below the poverty line. Based on recent reports, about 4.3 percent of Westerly families and 6.7 of Westerly individuals are living below the poverty level. Yet, The state and country family poverty levels of 7.8% and 9.8% respectively are much greater than Westerly's percentage, which are 7.8% and 9.8% respectively.(RI Department of Education, 2008) Of Westerly’s population, there are 18,124 people in the labor force that are either 16 years or older, and only 3.3 percent of these people are unemployed (which is the equivalent of 606 people) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000).
Socioeconomic Status:
Another factor that could possibly explain differences in student diversity is the student's socioeconomic background (which widely vary). As for the Westerly community, it In a 2008 survey, Rhode Island had 15 percent of its children under 18 years old were living in poverty, a 4 percent decrease from last year's figure. (RI Department of Education, 2008) The “maternal education” of children born between 2002 and 2006 varies significantly, but can help convey some insight on learning patterns in students. Between 2002 and 2006, 15 percent of children born in RI had mothers with less than a high school diploma. Out of the children born between 2002-2006 in RI, 37 percent were born to mother's with a bachelor's degree and above, and 17 percent were born to mother's with some college. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As for the rest of the population for maternal education, 28% were born to mother's with a high-school diploma, 15 percent to mother's with less than high-school diploma, and 3% was unknown (RI Department of Education, 2008) Since the data is collected from the major cities in Rhode Island, it can be conveyed that Westerly does have similar groups but not the same values.
Education of Community:
When looking at the area from an educational perspective, it is easy to see the community's education levels as being a bell curve. A majority of the population that is 25 years and older has a high school diploma or something equivalent (30%) such as a GED, with the next highest group (20.3%) having some college but no degree. As for the other educational standings in the community, 15.0 percent has a bachelor's degree, 12.5 percent has a 9th to 12th grade education without diploma, 9.6 percent has a graduate/ PhD, 6.8 percent with an associate's degree, and the remaining 5.8 percent with an education lower than 9th grade. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) The education levels might explain the extremely low level of community involvement in the area over the past few years (discussed more in Community Involvement).
Community Involvement:
With only 4% of parents responding to the SALT Survey and having 90% of them who "strongly agree that the community supports the school," while only an average of 80 percent of parents in RI high schools believe the schools receive support from the community. (RI Department of Education, 2008) It is obvious that the only community involvement are from the parents who truly care about their children's education (RI Department of Education, 2008). With 24.6 percent of the Westerly community having a bachelor degree or higher, it could possibly explain the low community involvement. (RI Department of Education, 2008)Since today's society looks for well-educated individuals, the working class has to work harder to make a living. As a result, the percent of individuals in the working class might not participate in the community because they simply do not have the time.
Crime Rate in the State:
Data also shows that as the population has increased in RI, so has the crime rate. In comparison to Connecticut and Massachusetts, RI is pretty clean but the other states have more area and greater densities in the metropolitan areas. Out of the 50 states of America, Rhode Island is ranked as the 44th highest total Crime Index in 2004 and 2005 (Rank 1 being worst). (The Disaster Center, 1997) Out of all the different crimes, Rhode Island's highest rank was in 2004 when it was the 30th highest state for forcible rape at a rate of 29.6 per 100,000 people. The most frequently occurring crime in the Ocean State would be property-related damage, followed by larceny-theft (The Disaster Center, 1997). Since most of the crime data was taken from RI as a whole, it can be inferred that a majority of the crimes committed were done so in large cities such as Providence. As for Westerly, it is deducible that crime is occurring in the Westerly community, and that a majority of the crime is found under property related damage. Also, with the increase in Westerly's population, it is safe to say that the crime rate has increased as well because the same number of law enforcement must watch more people per area.
Satellite Image of Westerly District
District
When compared to the high school, the Westerly district takes on many of their aspects. Similarly, the district is predominately white with a small percentage of the student body speaking English as a second language. The district is noted for having a large number of its teachers being qualified for their positions and meeting all NCLB standards for all of its schools. The following district analysis will examine the district's demographics, expenditures, teacher qualifications, education standards, and transportation.
Demographics:
As of the 2008 state reports, the Westerly district consists of several groups but it is not ethnically diverse. According to Infoworks, 94.6 percent of the schools in the Westerly district were classified as some other form of public schools while 0.8 percent of the district is home schooled and 4.6 percent were "nonpublic." (RI Department of Education, 2008) Within these schools, the majority of the students were considered white (89%) while the other 11 percent consisted of the following ethnicities: Asian (5%), African-American (2%), Hispanic (2%), and Native American (1%). Since the diversity of the area is incredibly slim, it is acceptable to see that the Westerly district only has 2 percent of its student body receiving English as a second language. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As for the district in regards to special education services, 13 percent of the student body have general education with support services while 4 percent of the students are either hospitalized or homebound. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Also, 23 percent of the Westerly district is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch which could suggest that a quarter of the district is below the average income mark.(RI Department of Education, 2008) Therefore, we can see that the Westerly district is primarily white with little diversity, and the district does provide for the students with special needs.
District Expenditures and Funding:
After viewing the recent 2008 reports, the Westerly district has been outdoing the state for the past few years. As a whole, the Westerly School District has 3,436 students and 346 teachers between Kindergarten to twelfth grade. (RI Department of Education, 2008) With a teacher-student ratio of 1:9 and having none of its classes in the district taught by unqualified teachers, Westerly District trumps most of the state's averages. During the 2006-2007 school year, Westerly spent $48,104,252 on their students. When broken down in the table below, 82% of the district's budget is from the local area because state and federal only donate 18% to the budget. The state of Rhode Island, on the other hand, receives 37% of its budget from the state and only 55% from the local areas. (RI Department of Education, 2008) The following data tells us that most of the district's funding comes from the taxpayers in the area, which could explain for the lowered average income when compared to the state's average income.
Equity and Adequacy of Resources
Sources of Revenue/Funding
In a 2008 survey, it was observed that an average of $13,966 was being spent on each child, which is more than Rhode Island's average $12,700 per pupil expenditure. For the 2% of the population that makes up the Special Education population, an average of $26,612 is spent on each child, which is almost equal to the state spending average of $25,968. (RI Department of Education, 2008)
Teacher Qualifications and Accountability:
It is easy to see that through assessment results from state reports that the majority of Westerly students are proficient in math, reading, and writing. Westerly is referred to as a “high performing” district which means that the students have met or exceeded the standards the state of RI has set through state testing. (RI Department of Education, 2008 In the district and the state, 1 percent of the teachers have emergency certification, meaning that there is not a high demand for teachers but there is still some demand. From last year's data, the Westerly District had 28 percent of "classes not taught by a highly qualified teacher" while the state remained at 23 percent. (RI Department of Education, 2008) As of the latest 2008 survey, the state average for "percent of classes not taught by a highly qualified teacher" decreased to only 15 percent, while the Westerly District reported "0 percent of classes not taught by a highly qualified teacher." (RI Department of Education, 2008)
District Accountability and Educational Standard:
Since the level of teaching is beyond adequate, the NCLB had classified the district as making "adequate yearly progress" in 5 of the 6 schools under review during the 2006-2007 academic year (RI Department of Education, 2008). In other words, the Westerly District was meeting the educational standard according to the NCLB standards. The one school in question could possibly be the Westerly High School in the 2006-2007 school year. Based on accountability data provided by InfoWorks, the Westerly elementary and middle schools in the area meet all of their identified targets, whereas the Westerly High School did not meet a target in "students with disabilities." (RI Department of Education, 2008) Yet, as of the 2007-2008 school year report, we can see that all the schools are making "adequate yearly progress," with even some schools being commended for their performance. (RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2008)
Transportation and Vocational Programs:
It is required by the RI Department of Education to provide transportation to all students living in the district. This includes "students attending private, out-of-district regionalized schools." Also included are regulations and standards that the buses and drivers must meet. (RI Department of Education, 2008) Also offered by the district are vocational classes the range anywhere from cooking, to foreign language, to even computer classes! It is not free, and it depends on what course you will take to determine how much you will be spending (Westerly Public Schools, 2008)
Conclusion
Westerly may seem like your typical small town, but is definitely going through transitions of expansion. Overall, the town of Westerly is generally quiet and during the summer, a resort to many who have beach houses or just want to get a break. Right now, the high performing high school school is proficient in all standards required by the state and the No Child Left Behind Act, and creates many opportunities to those who have and are attending Westerly High School. The Westerly community is made of middle class families that are primarily white and of "one race." The education of the community is averaged at being of a high school diploma or equivalence, and it has a very low school involvement rate. As for the district, it is not affluent but it does collect enough money from its citizens provide the schools with extremely qualified teachers and methods of transportation. Since it is has such notable characteristics, it is quite predictable to see that the whole district has met all NCLB standards for the 2007-2008 school year.
The findings will be important to the readers because it will provide them with countless pieces of information. The demographics can tell the reader if the area is capable of supporting special education services for particular students and if they area is welcoming (amount of diversity). It can tell the reader the type of community and whether or not it is geared towards education or manual labor. Furthermore, it can tell the reader if the town is an adequate place for the reader to raise a family, give their children a great education, or get a promising job in the education system.
References
Muccio, J. (2003). The History of Westerly/Ward Senior High School. Retrieved from http://westerly.k12.ri.us/users/hs_history/high_school/History.html.
RI Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2007). 2007 Rhode Island School Report Card. Retrieved from http://www.eride.ri.gov/reportcard/07/ReportCard.aspx?schCode=36104&schType=3.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. Indicators of Child Well-Being, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/documents/Westerly2008.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Curriculm and Instruction: Advanced Placement Exams. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/ap.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Engaging Families and Community. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/family/36104H-fami.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Equitity and Adequacy of Resources. Retrieved from http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/insite/36104H-expb.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Equity and Adequacy of Resources: Per-pupil Expenditures. Retrieved from http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-insite-bar/36d-expb.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Learning and Achievement: Accountability. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/accountability/36104H-acco.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Learning and Achievement: Accountability of Westerly District. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-accountability/36d-acco.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Learning and Achievement: Assessments. Retrieved from http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/achievement/36104H-achi.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Safe and Supportive Schools: Health Risks. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/Health/36104H-heal.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Using Information. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/usinginfo/36104H-info.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Using Information: District Demographics and Indicators. Retrieved from http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-usinginfo/36d-info.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Using Information: Family and Poverty Indicators. Retrieved from http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/state/kidscount.pdf.
RI Department of Education. (2008). Using Information: School Performance. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-performance/36d-perf.pdf.
RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2008). 2008 School Report Cards. Retrieved from http://www.eride.ri.gov/reportcar/08/schools.aspx.
RI Interscholastic League and Scholastic Tools. (1999). Coaching Staff Westerly High School. . Retrieved from
http://www.schtools.com/members/coaches/index.cfm?fuseaction=coachespub&SchoolID=52&Org=RIIL&CFID=12213181&CFTOKEN=41648916.
The Disaster Center. (1997). US States Crime 2004-2005: Crimes per 100,000 and Ranking. Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/US_States_Rate_Ranking.html.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Fact Sheet Census Demographic Profile Highlights. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=06000US4400977000&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US44%.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=06000US4400977000&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_DP3&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Profile of Selected Housing Characteristics. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=06000US4400977000&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_DP4&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Profile of Selected Social Characteristics. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=06000US4400977000&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_DP2&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-_sse=on.
U.S. Department of Labor. (2008). Local Area Unemployment Statistics. Retrieved from http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/dsrv.
Westerly Public Schools. (2008). Westerly High School. . Retrieved from http://westerly.k12.ri.us/whs/overview.htm.
CR EVAL - Conner by JayF